Industrial safety systems and/or methods for creating and passively detecting changes in electrical fields

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11635803-B2
Application number	US-202217835058-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2022
Priority date	Mar 3, 2021
Publication date	Apr 25, 2023
Grant date	Apr 25, 2023

Abstract

A detection system has an interface including a substrate supporting a conductive coating. Electrodes are provided to the substrate. A multiplexer provides current to the electrodes. A demultiplexer receives voltages from electrodes and provides corresponding signals to a controller. The controller receives these signals and determines therefrom an operation performed in connection with the interface by applying an algorithmic approach. Static interaction is recognizable, and machine learning can be used for gesture recognition and/or identification of other interaction types. The technology can be used in a broad array of applications, e.g., where it is desirable to sense interactions with a defined region such as, for example, in the case of touches, gestures, hovers, and/or the like.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An industrial safety system for guarding a defined area, the system comprising:
an electrically-conductive surface;
a plurality of field-defining electrodes electrically connected to the electrically-conductive surface, the surface and the electrodes cooperating to create an electrical field in relation to the defined area, the created electrical field functioning as a passive sensor for the defined area; and
a controller operably coupled to a memory, the memory having stored therein a plurality of defined templates corresponding to respective industrial safety system safety events related to the defined area, the templates having corresponding actions defined therefor, the controller being configured to perform program logic to perform operations comprising:
monitoring for changes with the electrical field based on data derived from output from at least some of the electrodes, the derived data being indicative of an interaction with the defined area, the interaction having characteristics including three-dimensional spatial and timing characteristics;
determining whether the interaction matches one of the defined templates without relying on a multi-dimensional electrical field reconstruction; and
responsive to a determination that the interaction matches one of the defined templates, selectively triggering the corresponding action based on one or more of the characteristics of the interaction.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-conductive surface is a mat, film, or tape.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-conductive surface includes a sprayed-on conductive material; a thin film coating; an applied conductive tape; and/or conductive particles laminated, molded, or embedded therein.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the field-defining electrodes are configured as wire leads provided around at least a part of a periphery of the defined area.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the defined templates are structured to distinguish between different detectable disturbances to the electrical field, and
wherein the detectable disturbances include a human or object passing by the defined area, coming within one or more predefined threshold distances of the defined area, and/or entering into the defined area.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the object is a contaminant that will affect the electrical field.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the object is a machine.

8. The system of claim 5 , wherein the detectable disturbances further include electromagnetic field disrupters.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the actions are selected from a set of programmable actions, including activating a light, sign, and/or siren; slowing down an object or equipment; shutting down an object or equipment; de-energizing an object or equipment; sending a phone, SMS, email or other electronically-mediated message or alert; and causing an object or equipment to move relative to the defined area such that the object or equipment moves into or out of the defined area or to a designated location.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to perform further operations comprising:
determining whether multiple interactions with the defined area are occurring in close and/or overlapping temporal proximity to one another;
determining whether each of these multiple interactions match one of the defined templates without reconstructing the entire electrical field; and
responsive to a determination that more than one of the multiple interaction match one of the defined templates, selectively triggering the corresponding actions based on one or more of the characteristics of the interaction.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the templates have different severity levels assigned thereto and the actions are triggered in accordance with the different respective severity levels.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein possible characteristics of the interaction used in selectively triggering the corresponding action include proximity, location, trajectory, and speed related to the interaction.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the area is definable in X, Y, and/or Z dimensions, with or without a rectilinear or regular shape.

14. The system of claim 1 , being provided with a glass, plastic, wire, or other barrier.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the defined area takes the place of at least a bottom, side, lower, and/or upper portion of a glass, plastic, wire, or other barrier.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the defined area includes: a portion of a machine, a prohibited space, a defined path, and/or a control or operator area.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the defined area includes an interior and/or exterior to a control or operator area; and
wherein at least one of the templates determines whether a human is present and/or alert in the control or operator area, and the corresponding action deactivates machinery if the human is not present and/or alert.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-conductive surface is provided on a first plane, and at least one of the field-defining electrodes is provided on a plane other than the first plane.

19. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the templates are machine-learned while the industrial safety system is guarding the defined area.

20. The system of claim 19 , wherein the defined area is on a mobile machine.

21. The system of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-conductive surface is a skin of a machine.

22. The system of claim 21 , wherein the detection system is operably coupled to a control system of the machine.

23. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the detection system events relate to an unplanned and/or unexpected disturbance to the electrical field caused by a perturbation emanating from a human, other machinery, a structure, a recognizable electronic signal, pest, or debris.

24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the recognizable electronic signal emanates from a placed marker.

25. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least some of the events relate to an identification of stored energy.

26. The system of claim 1 , being provided in duplicate for redundant detection of the same events.

27. An industrial safety system for guarding a defined area, the system comprising:
an electrically-conductive surface;
a plurality of field-defining electrodes electrically connected to the electrically-conductive surface, the surface and the electrodes cooperating to create an electrical field in relation to the defined area, the created electrical field functioning as a passive sensor for the defined area; and
a controller operably coupled to a memory, the memory having stored therein a plurality of defined templates corresponding to respective industrial safety system safety events related to the defined area, the templates having corresponding actions defined therefor, the controller being configured to perform program logic to perform operations comprising:
monitoring for changes with the electrical field based on data derived from output from at least some of the electrodes, the derived data being indicative of an interaction with the defined area, the interaction having characteristics including three-dimensional spatial and timing characteristics;
determining whether the interaction matches one of the defined templates witho

Assignees

• Guardian Glass Llc

Inventors

• Andersen Ryan
• Agbuga Okan
• Hu Xuequn
• Rogers Robert G

Classifications

• G05B9/02

  electric · CPC title

• G01D5/24

  by varying capacitance · CPC title

• B25J9/1676

  Avoiding collision or forbidden zones · CPC title

• G06F3/011 Primary

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title

• G06F3/04166 Primary

  Details of scanning methods, e.g. sampling time, grouping of sub areas or time sharing with display driving (Synchronisation with the driving of the display or the backlighting unit to avoid interferences generated internally G06F3/04184) · CPC title